Speaking Of Everything…

Saving grace, perhaps?

This afternoon Sen. McCain addressed a rally in Minnesota and, evidently, the scary tenor of the crowds attending his events finally got to him. A woman, quivering with emotion, said she was scared of Obama because he was an “Arab!”

McCain gently told her she was mistaken and defended Sen. Obama’s character. He also told the crowd that they didn’t have to be scared by the prospect of a President Obama. He then brightened and asserted he would be a much better president than Obama, and that’s why he was running so hard.

Thank you, Senator John S. McCain.

Bad Moon Rising

In the aftermath of Tuesday night’s Presidential Debate, I thought the campaign was going to get really nasty as it appeared Senator McCain hadn’t scored a tremendous victory.

I don’t want to be snide, but wasn’t the Town Hall style forum supposed to be his sweet spot? To be fair, it wasn’t much a forum for there was no free flowing discussion to be heard. Senator Obama displayed grace and balance as he deftly navigated a “Fence Walk” - determined to give no ammunition to his opponent. Anyone tuning in for scintillating debate surely tuned out in disappointment. 

Senator McCain was supposed to nail this one and halt his slide in the polls as it becomes more evident the financial crisis is full on and the fundamentals of the economy are not strong. In times like these, times of crisis, the incumbent party usually gets the heave ho. Not good for the GOP.

Over the last 30 years the GOP has developed a scorched-earth style of campaigning that has devastated the political process. When they couldn’t defeat Bill Clinton at the polls or outmaneuver him on legislation, they impeached on grounds of lying about his marital infidelity; effectively neutering his influence on the 2000 election.

You know the history of the last two presidential elections and if you don’t, go look it up… and make sure to get info and opinions from all sides. You will find the GOP gets down and dirty when the time comes to win… just ask Senator McCain. Truthfully, I wouldn’t have voted for him against Al Gore in 2000, but I was a fan. When Kerry allowed the notion of McCain as a running mate to be floated in 2004, I would have been cool with that. But this isn’t the same John McCain that I respected and admired in the old days.

Today, the same guys who smeared McCain in South Carolina back in 2000 are running his campaign and they have no important issue with which to win. So where do we go from here?

A writer with The Guardian sees a stark tone setting in on the McCain campaign that appears to have Senator McCain’s tacit approval. The title of his post? “Now it Gets Nasty” 

The crowds attending these events seem to be catching onto the vibe.

Something is in the air, and it doesn’t bode well.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/oliverburkemanblog/2008/oct/07/uselections2008.johnmccain

End Game: Time for the GOP to go Negative!

“Now you’re getting nasty.”

–Indiana Jones

The GOP has thrown everything they can at Barack Obama: Experience, Elitism, Naivete, etc.

The economy is tanking and the Democrats are rising in the polls. Voters want out of Iraq and the Democrats are rising in the polls.  

What is a desperate party to do? Pick up the shovels and head for the manure pile! Bill Krystol, one of the neoconservative guys advising McCain, (and one of the Project for the New American Century knuckelheads who showed Bush the way into Iraq) says: 

“The McCain campaign has to convince 51 percent of the voters they can’t trust Barack Obama to be our next president. This has an ideological component and a character component.”

Standard Rove/Atwater Operating procedure. Divide the country in half and get 51 percent of the voters scared or mad over some cultural aspect… gay marriage was the thing that helped steal Ohio for the GOP in 2004 - but that is off the table after the Biden /Palin debate. Here are a couple of ads from te “Good ole days!” Jesse Helms “Hands“  ad, and the George H.W. Bush,  Willie Horton ad, The new offensive should be just that, Offensive! The more offensive, the better to resonate among the “real, hardworking Americans… white Americans” identified by Sen. Clinton.

I remember one of Ronald Reagan’s favorite quotes was from Al Jolson, “You ain’t seen nothin’, yet!”

It is going to get real thick over the next 30 days. 

“Shoeless Joe” Hardy or the Whine of the Ancient Mariner?

Oh, I was gonna write something pithy this evening about how John McCain has changed so dramatically since the 2000 campaign, but Barry Dunsmore beat me to it by a couple of weeks. Dunsmore, a retired ABC News reporter, is a columnist for the Rutland (VT) Herald, wrote:

“Question: What do Dr. Faust, Joe Hardy and John McCain have in common?

Answer: The first two are fictional characters — the third is a candidate for president.

Question: Yes, but what do they have in common? You be the judge.”

They all sold their souls to the Devil.

I was gonna go with the Joe Hardy from “Damn Yankees” theme. Old guy loves the Washington Senators but they suck. He wants them to win so badly he sells his soul to the devil and becomes “Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO” a star baseball player who helps the Senators challenge for and win the pennant. 

In the end, Joe beats the devil, thanks to the powerful love of his wife.

But Dunsmore got to the Faustus analogy first. So, I’ll go with something completely different; “The Whine of the Ancient Mariner.” 

Voters, voters, everywhere,

And yet the polls did shrink;

Voters, voters, everywhere,

Too bad they’re apt to think.

What happened to the “old” John McCain?

I can’t help it. There is something epic and almost mythic in watching the train wreck that is the GOP presidential campaign. Full disclosure; I would have voted for John McCain in 2000 if he been the GOP nominee. I will sell everything I have and move to New Mexico to raise Alpacas if he and Sarah Palin are elected on November 4, 2008.

This guy has morphed into the very politician he claims to abhor… and on top of everything else, he has managed to go from looking like the Aviator Hero to cranky old guy next door! You remember the old guy in the neighborhood you wanted to give the ol’ dogshit hotfoot to?

Yeah. That guy.

Some dems just can’t vote for Obama…

Interesting article in the LA Times. Folks in Appalachia may be feeling the pain of the economic situation, but before they vote for a black man, they just won’t vote at all. Be sure to check out the column by a local guy in rural Virginia who just happens to be a GOP big shot in their community.

Palin Wins Debate…

…because she didn’t fuck up!

More on the debate later, I just finished an assignment and I’m hititng the sack!

The Last Nail in the Coffin…

Yesterday afternoon the House of Representatives failed to pass legislation requested by the Bush Administration and Fed Chairman Henry Paulson for $250 billion to bailout the financial industry. Naturally, House Republican leaders quickly blamed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for losing the votes of their members for saying in a speech before the vote:

“Today we must act for those Americans, for Main Street, and we must act now, with the bipartisan spirit of cooperation which allowed us to fashion this legislation.

This not enough. We are also working to restore our nation’s economic strength by passing a new economic recovery stimulus package, a robust, job-creating bill that will help Americans struggling with high prices, get our economy back on track and renew the American dream.

Today we will act to avert this crisis, but informed by our experience of the past eight years, with the failed economic leadership that has left us less capable of meeting the challenges of the future.

We choose a different path. In the new year, with a new Congress and a new president, we will break free with a failed past and take America in a new direction to a better future.”

The full text of her comments are here.

This was enough to make the House GOP dissenters take their legislative ball and go home? Fugedaboudit! These idealogues were not going to vote for this bill no way, no how. These guys sent Vice President Dick Cheney, (The Prince of Darkness), on his way last week saying, “The problem is that they’ve used up a lot of goodwill.”

No, this had nothing to do with Pelosi’s comments, instead, this was a matter of idealogues on the right standing firm on the “principles” that got us into this mess in the first place. Bob Herbert in today’s New York Times is correct in labeling knuckleheads such as Darrell Issa (R. CA) as “Mad Men.”

“With the fate of the Bush administration’s desperate $700 billion bailout of the financial industry hanging in the balance, Representative Darrell Issa, a Republican from California, stuck to his political playbook like a man covered in Krazy Glue. He pronounced himself “resolute” in his opposition to the bailout because to be otherwise would amount to a betrayal of party principles.

To deviate from those principles, in Mr. Issa’s view, would be like placing “a coffin on top of Ronald Reagan’s coffin.”

We are witnessing the death throes of the Bush Administration… will the financial system bite the dust along with W.?

The Debate: McCain Makes The Case For… Experience?

Sen. McCain repeatedly said, “You don’t understand” and “I went to…”

So what does that say about Sarah Palin?

Obama came off as very knowledgeable when it comes to foreign policy and compassionate for the little guy on domestic policy. He also demonstrated that he wouldn’t take any guff off McCain, but refrained from being disrespectful.

McCain, however, never looked at Obama and consistently sought to diminish him.

Let the spin begin!

McCain will be declared the winner based on the asshole quotient. The pundits will say Obama missed opportunities to land heavy shots on McCain, and for sure, there were some openings. But this ain’t over. There are still 40 days left in this thing. Why use up your heavy artillery if you don’t have to? Obama still has bullets in his clip, McCain’s clip is empty.

Tonight was to be his big night; this debate focused on foreign policy which is supposed to be McCain’s spinach.

Whenever Obama boxed McCain into a corner, McCain pulled out a heart tugging story about a veteran, or a of a visit to Waziristan, Bezerkestan, or wherever, concluding with a condescending phrase.

He stayed in attack mode all night long, but Obama didn’t bite. He smiled and responded, “I agree with John on that point,” and would then gently give an example where McCain didn’t appear to know what the hell he was talking about.

McCain was all bluster, Obama was cool.

Since most pundits will go into “sports metaphor mode” why shouldn’t I?

See the election as a tennis match… this is the third and final set and tonight it was “Game one, Mr Obama!”

Obama hung tough, stood his ground and didn’t look like an asshole.

The “Independents” and “Undecideds” can’t say they don’t know where Obama is on foreign policy after tonight.

Troy Anthony Davis’ Execution Stayed

I found about Troy Davis a couple of weeks ago when I was assigned to research his case and write to him.

There is no way this man should be executed. Convicted in 1989 for the killing Officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah, GA, Davis was sentenced to death although there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. Seven of the nine witnesses against him have recanted. Some of the witnesses claim they were coerced by police to testify against Davis who has steadfastly insisted he is innocent. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed his execution which was scheduled to take place tonight at 7pm.

Amnesty International has been championing Davis’ case with support from former President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Pope Benedict XVI. Here is their statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision.

I hope Troy gets a chance to get a fair hearing and at the very least has his life spared.